Penalty Kill Stellar for Kings

Defense in hockey means more than punishing hits, acrobatic saves and blocked shots.

As the Los Angeles Kings are demonstrating in this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, effective penalty killing provides an advantage that is more subtle, yet no less significant.

The Kings entered Game 3 of the Cup finals against the Devils tied for the best penalty-killing percentage among playoff teams at 92.1 percent with St. Louis, which the Kings swept in the second round.